Owl’s Head is a small gem of a park. It is comprised of two parts: the lighthouse and a shingle beach on a small cove. Although I like painting both areas, I chose the beach. “There’s not much surf here,” my husband commented. He’s right; it’s a pretty protected place.

It’s a tough place to work, but someone has to do it.

Samuel de Champlain apparently went everywhere; he explored Owl’s Head in 1605. Later sailors thought it looked like the head of an owl, a resemblance I struggle to see. Owl’s Head was first incorporated as part of Thomaston in 1777, and was painted by Fitz Henry Lane in 1862. By any standard, that makes it historic.

The composer Benjamin Britten called it “very unpretentious” after fleeing there from Pemaquid Point, which he complained was full of the “most terrible Bostonian old ladies.” Britten was sufficiently inspired to sketch out his “Diversions for Piano Left Hand and Orchestra, Op. 21” at Owl’s Head.

There were no clouds when I started, hence the title. The back of the keeper’s house has interested me for years.

I paint and teach there regularly. “I usually don’t see that many people from away down here,” I told my husband. “They come to see the lighthouse, but the beach seems to be kind of a local attraction.” Not five minutes later, a photographer from Connecticut stopped to chat.

“Doesn’t that wreck your concentration?” someone asked me. Well, it does, but I enjoy the contact too much to ever stop talking to strangers.

I wrapped up my painting and looked at my watch. It was 6:30 and I’d promised to stop and buy fish on my way home. Both fishmongers I checked were closed, so in the end we settled for something from Hannaford’s.

Jamie Williams Grossman also pioneered using bottle caps for palette cups. They take up a fraction of the space and discourage waste. Plus, you can replace them by cracking open another beer.

Of course, I’d gotten a very late start. Most successful painters spend half their time doing administrative work—marketing, paying bills, ordering supplies, delivering or retrieving work. If I were smart, I’d do that at the end of the day, but experience has taught me that I have to clear my desk (and make my bed) before I can relax to paint.

So today I’ll order painting boards before I go out again.

What do I look for in a canvas board? Stability and quality manufacturing, of course, but also “tooth,” the textural quality that determines how the canvas will grab paint. This is a very individual choice, and I tend to like canvases that are textured.

One of the most important considerations is archival stability. I believe in my work, and that means I believe that it should be protected from damage over time.

Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me on the Schoodic Peninsula in beautiful Acadia National Park in August 2015. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops! Download a brochure here.

About Carol Douglas

Carol L. Douglas is a painter who lives, works and teaches in Rockport, ME. Her annual workshop will again be held on the Schoodic Peninsula in beautiful Acadia National Park, from August 6-11, 2017. Visit www.watch-me-paint.com/ for more information.

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Carol Douglas

Carol L. Douglas is a painter who lives, works and teaches in Rockport, ME. Her annual workshop will again be held on the Schoodic Peninsula in beautiful Acadia National Park, from August 6-11, 2017. Visit www.watch-me-paint.com/ for more information.